East Midlands and Yorkshire see largest rise in exports of goods in 2018

March 8, 2019

The number of VAT-registered businesses exporting goods across the UK has increased to 110,800, an increase of over 1,000 since this time last year.

When comparing 2018 to 2017, the strongest growth in goods exports within UK regions came from East Midlands, which saw the greatest rise in the value of exports (up 7.9%) followed by Yorkshire and The Humber (up 7.8%) and Scotland (up 5.6%).

This is according to new figures released by HMRC.

The figures also reveal that in 2018 compared to 2017:

Exports of goods from England increased by 2.1% to £248.6 billion

In Scotland, goods exports increased by 5.6% to £30.3 billion

In Wales, goods exports increased by 4.2% to £17.2 billion

In Northern Ireland, goods exports increased by 1.9% to £8.9 billion

Businesses have seen an increased appetite for UK goods from non-EU countries, with the number exporting to these countries in the last quarter rising by 1.3% to 49,900.

The most popular non-EU destination was the USA, where 20.2% of exporters sold goods to, Australia (7.7%) and Switzerland (7.6%).

In the final three months of 2018, the average value of goods exported in the UK per exporter was £780,000.

International Trade Secretary, Dr Liam Fox MP said: “The continued rise in British exports across the country highlights the true exporting power across all UK regions. This is fantastic news for British businesses, who should be encouraged by these figures to take advantage of the clear opportunities available for growing their business overseas.

“People from across the world want to buy British, and through our Export Strategy my department is fully committed to helping businesses make the most of international opportunities.

“Launched last year, the Export Strategy set out how DIT will support businesses of all sizes to make the most of significant export opportunities around the world.

“The Strategy sets a new ambition from government to increase exports as a proportion of UK GDP from 30% to 35%.”

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